This story tells of two Snake Brothers and their wives, who are sisters, that live west of Amata in South Australia. Everyday, the women went out hunting and brought home meat for cooking that they had caught during the day. The men only performed ceremonies while the women were out hunting, and eventually the women became frustrated at their laziness. The women decided to eat all the food they had caught, leaving the men to fend for themselves.

The men became angry at the women for doing this and decided to turn into a Wanampi (a giant mythical water serpent), and played jokes on the women. The women were forever chasing the Wanampis without ever catching them. Eventually, one of the women trapped the older Wanampi and once she saw how large the Wanampi's coils were, she became frightened and speared him.

The younger Wanampi chased the woman who speared the older Wanampi and swallowed her, while the older Wanampi swallowed the other woman. The older Wanampi is now a Bloodwood Tree with a dry limb sticking out at one side, and the trunk is covered with lumps. The dead tree limb is the spear with which the Wanampi was speared with, and the lumps in the tree are the body of the woman still showing through the skin of the snake.

This painting describes the exact water courses, landmark formations and locations of where this story took place in the Dreamtime era through iconography.

Shipping Calculator

Description

Wanampi Tjukurpa is a Rainbow Snake creation story.

This story tells of two Snake Brothers and their wives, who are sisters, that live west of Amata in South Australia. Everyday, the women went out hunting and brought home meat for cooking that they had caught during the day. The men only performed ceremonies while the women were out hunting, and eventually the women became frustrated at their laziness. The women decided to eat all the food they had caught, leaving the men to fend for themselves.

The men became angry at the women for doing this and decided to turn into a Wanampi (a giant mythical water serpent), and played jokes on the women. The women were forever chasing the Wanampis without ever catching them. Eventually, one of the women trapped the older Wanampi and once she saw how large the Wanampi's coils were, she became frightened and speared him.

The younger Wanampi chased the woman who speared the older Wanampi and swallowed her, while the older Wanampi swallowed the other woman. The older Wanampi is now a Bloodwood Tree with a dry limb sticking out at one side, and the trunk is covered with lumps. The dead tree limb is the spear with which the Wanampi was speared with, and the lumps in the tree are the body of the woman still showing through the skin of the snake.

This painting describes the exact water courses, landmark formations and locations of where this story took place in the Dreamtime era through iconography.

(S)

Detail

Add to Cart

Our “Add to Cart” online sales facility is currently under development and will be active very soon!

In the meantime, please contact The Artery directly to purchase this painting. We are open 7 days a week to assist you in the purchase process or to take general enquiries.

Contact a gallery team member on +61 2 9380 8234 during business hours (GMT +10) or email us at: websales@artery.com.au

All paintings can be delivered anywhere in Australia or internationally. We use a direct courier service, which provides a door to door service.